Hewlett-Packard to Acquire Palm

Can a computer company break into the tough smartphone market? Hewlett-Packard is rising to the challenge, with its acquisition of struggling cell phone company Palm, which makes the Palm Pre and Palm Pixie. The $1.2 billion deal comes after Palm failed to attain a healthy stake in the market and grab customers from rivals Apple and Research in Motion. Shares of the company had tumbled 52 percent in the past year.